An opportunity of a British lifetime opened itself to Lando Norris in the most unexpected manner in a rain-punctuated race at Silverstone, handed him by his hitherto dominant team-mate Oscar Piastri.
It was a chance the faultless Norris claimed, winning his home race for the first time in front of a 160,000-strong crowd that had painted their affections for him in the orange of McLaren that was the dominant colour in the stands, at least underneath the ponchos.
It was the Bristolian’s fourth victory of the season, his first ever consecutively, burying a hoodoo, and put him just eight points of Piastri, who finished runner-up, at the world championship summit.
‘Beautiful,’ said Norris, his voice thin, putting triumph in the Midlands ahead even of his delight in Monaco in May.
His unexpected break delivered itself as the safety car prepared to turn in on lap 22. Piastri led, a brilliant leader in fact until now, his speed way superior to Norris’s. But the Australian jammed on the anchors on the Hangar Straight, going into Stowe. He went from some 130mph to a bus-lane crawl. You’d have put on your hazard lights on the motorway, but here even quicker reactions were called for.
Max Verstappen, then immediately behind Piastri, had to steer out of his path. ‘Woah, mate,’ exclaimed the Dutchman. ‘F***. He suddenly slowed down.’
Lando Norris won his home British grand Prix to close the gap at the top of the standings
Just eight points separates the two McLaren drivers after another action-packed race
There were jubilant scenes as Norris celebrated with his team following his victory
An investigation was launched. The stewards did not sit in judgment long. They imposed a 10-second penalty. At this point, Piastri’s lead over Norris (who had jumped into third after Verstappen span as the race restarted) stood at 3.6sec.
All – all! – Norris had to do was keep it clean and wait for the penalty to play out. The race would be his, making him the 12th driver from these shores to win the British Grand Prix, and lift the gold Grand Prix Trophy, transported from the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall for the ceremonies.
Names dating back to Moss, including Clark and Stewart, Mansell and Hill, and up to Hamilton, adorn it.
It had not looked likely to be Norris’s day. He started third, behind Piastri with Verstappen on pole. The defending champion Verstappen’s pole lap was supreme, but the last element he wanted as he tried convert that supremacy into victory was rain, and it was soon apparent that Piastri’s McLaren was faster. Piastri passed Verstappen, who ran wide at Stowe, seven of 52 laps into the action.
Stowe, of ironies, is where the ‘Lando Grandstand’ housed 10,000 of the faithful. Still, a cheer went up for Piastri, Verstappen being the pantomime villain right there.
At this stage, the action was stop-start. Two virtual safety car and two actual ones came out in the first half of the race. The biggest shunt saw Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar catch the back of Mercedes’ unsighted Kimi Antonelli in the spray. Hadjik careered off into the gravel at Copse, though thankfully the pebbles took the worst of the sting out of it. He retired, as did Antonelli later.
‘I’m OK,’ said Hadjar. It brought out the fateful safety car for which Norris could be so grateful.
Norris grasped this twist of fortune, needing to stay within 10 seconds of Piastri to land glory. Indeed, he narrowed the gap. There was 1.3sec in it with 10 laps remaining.
On the pit wall McLaren chief executive Zak Brown told Sky they would consider appealing the Piastri sanction – what, and deny his other driver victory at home in front of fervid fans? Surely not.
Piastri asked if the McLaren pair could be switched over if it was thought his punishment unfair. Try that one, chaps. You may not get out of Northamptonshire with your lives. They didn’t, clearly.
Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg finished on the podium for the first time in his long career
The 37-year-old veteran driver claimed a podium spot for the first time in 239 attempts
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton had a day of nearly doing it, but not quite. He made some sweet moves, passing George Russell and Esteban Ocon in one pass. He was bang in contention for a podium but ran wide after his final stop and that left him with too much to do to catch Sauber’s Niko Hulkenberg for third place, the 37-year-old German’s first podium in 239 attempts. Well driven.
Verstappen finished fifth complaining of an undriveable Red Bull.
George Russell, who never quite found his feet in the wet conditions and moved too early on to slick towards the end, and slipped off, finished 10th.
The final Brit, Ollie Bearman, survived the cull of the rookies to finish a highly credible if not entirely uneventful 11th for Haas.
All – all! – Norris had to do was keep it clean and wait for the penalty to play out. The race would be his, making him the 12th driver from these shores to win the British Grand Prix, and lift the gold Grand Prix Trophy, transported from the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall for the ceremonies.
Names dating back to Moss, including Clark and Stewart, Mansell and Hill, and up to Hamilton, adorn it.
It had not looked likely to be Norris’s day. He started third, behind Piastri with Verstappen on pole. The defending champion Verstappen’s pole lap was supreme, but the last element he wanted as he tried convert that supremacy into victory was rain, and it was soon apparent that Piastri’s McLaren was faster. Piastri passed Verstappen, who ran wide at Stowe, seven of 52 laps into the action.
Stowe, of ironies, is where the ‘Lando Grandstand’ housed 10,000 of the faithful. Still, a cheer went up for Piastri, Verstappen being the pantomime villain right there.
Piastri (right) was handed a 10-second penalty for slowing down behind the safety car
At this stage, the action was stop-start. Two virtual safety car and two actual ones came out in the first half of the race. The biggest shunt saw Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar catch the back of Mercedes’ unsighted Kimi Antonelli in the spray. Hadjik careered off into the gravel at Copse, though thankfully the pebbles took the worst of the sting out of it. He retired, as did Antonelli later.
‘I’m OK,’ said Hadjar. It brought out the fateful safety car for which Norris could be so grateful.
Norris grasped this twist of fortune, needing to stay within 10 seconds of Piastri to land glory. Indeed, he narrowed the gap. There was 1.3sec in it with 10 laps remaining.
On the pit wall McLaren chief executive Zak Brown told Sky they would consider appealing the Piastri sanction – what, and deny his other driver victory at home in front of fervid fans? Surely not.
Piastri asked if the McLaren pair could be switched over if it was thought his punishment unfair. Try that one, chap. You may not get out of Northamptonshire with your lives. They didn’t, clearly.
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton had a day of nearly doing it, but not quite. He made some sweet moves, passing George Russell and Esteban Ocon in one pass. He was bang in contention for a podium but ran wide after his final stop and that left him with too much to do to catch Sauber’s Niko Hulkenberg for third place.
Hamilton finished fourth with Lance Stroll a great fifth for Aston Martin, who operated in their glistening £200million factory by Silverstone’s gates.
Verstappen finished sixth complaining of an undriveable Red Bull.
George Russell, who never quite found his feet in the wet conditions and moved too early on to slick towards the end, and slipped off, finished 10th. The other Brit, Ollie Bearman, survived the cull of the rookies to finish a highly credible if not entirely uneventful 11th for Haas.